Providing palliative care support across Australia
Finding help, advice or support is not always easy. There are a range of services and organisations that can help people who are ill or their carer. These pages have information on national resources.
Palliative care organisations and programs
Government organisations
- Carer Gateway Tel: 1800 422 737
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- Medicare – Services Australia
- My Aged Care: Government-funded aged care services including help around the house and aged care homes. Tel: 1800 200 422.
- Help at home – Find out which services are available and how to access them
- Eligibility and assessment
- Caring for someone – Helpful information for carers
- Respite services
- Commonwealth Home Support Program
- Support at Home Program
- Find a provider: If you have already been assessed and are ready to find a suitable local service provider
- Healthdirect Australia
- Quality, health approved information. Includes resources and information on caring for others, respite care, and residential care
- National Health Services Directory
- Check the after-hours health services page for contact information
Financial organisations and information
- Services Australia, including Centrelink
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
- Moneysmart:
- Information on coping financially after losing your partner.
- List of Public Trustees for each state and territory.
Mental health programs and sites
- Australian Government mental health initiatives and programs
- Better Access initiative: Medicare rebates to help access services by psychiatrists, psychologists, and general practitioners (GPs)
- Beyond Blue: Support programs for issues related to anxiety, depression, and suicide’
- headspace: Support for mental health and wellbeing
- SANE Australia: Support for individuals, their families, friends, and communities with mental health issues and traumas
- MensLine Australia: Free telephone and online counselling service for Australian men Tel: 1300 789 978
- Kids Helpline: Free support and counselling to talk through problems for people aged 5-25. Tel: 1800 55 1800
Support organisations
- Funerals Australia
- Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN): Helps older people resolve their issues with government-funded aged care services
- Lifeline: For crisis support and suicide prevention Tel: 13 11 14
- GriefLink: Information for people dealing with grief
- Grief Australia: Support for bereaved and grieving Australians
- MyGrief: Free app that provides help for people experiencing grief and for those supporting them
- Griefline: Free and confidential counselling and support to people experiencing grief and loss (Freecall 1300 845 745)
- Red Nose
- MedicAlert Foundation
- Australian Red Cross
- Young Carers Network
- CarerHelp
- Violet: Provides information and support to help people caring for someone in the last stage of life navigate this journey.
- Meals on Wheels
- Gather My Crew: Tool to coordinate help from family, friends and neighbours
- Family Relationship Advice Line: national telephone service that helps families affected by relationship issues
Travel organisations and information
- St John Ambulance Australia
- Angel Flight Australia: For coordinating free, non-emergency flights and transfers to access specialist medical treatments Tel: 1300 726 567
- Patient Assisted Travel Schemes (PATS)
- National Public Toilet Map
Compassionate groups
Equipment services and information
Organ and tissue registries
- Australian Organ Donor Register The national register where you record your organ and tissue donation decision.
- DonateLife: Register to become an organ and tissue donor.
Organisations to help with medicines
- Find a pharmacy
- NPS MedicineWise (National Prescribing Service)
- 1300 MEDICINE: free service staffed by registered pharmacists to answer medicine-related questions. Tel: 1300 633 424.
Representative and complaints bodies
- National Aged Care Alliance
- Consumers Health Forum of Australia
- Carers Australia
- Complaintline: For guidance on how to make a complain about health services
- The Australian Government Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission site: For guidance on how to lodge a complaint or raise a concern, with a complaint lodgement form
Last updated 21 May 2026